


Birth of a Whisper

by wilddragonflying



Series: Fallout Fic [1]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: falling off of a fucking freeway and nearly dying, meeting the railroad, working with deacon, yknow the usual fallout experience
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-20
Updated: 2019-01-20
Packaged: 2019-10-13 00:59:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17478278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wilddragonflying/pseuds/wilddragonflying
Summary: Kaili makes some new allies





	Birth of a Whisper

”Hey, Nick!”

Kaili grins as Nick glances over from where he’s warily watching the latest addition to Sanctuary Hills – a Savage Deathclaw named Larry. Pipsqueak, Larry’s mother(and albino Deathclaw) is around somewhere, possibly hunting some of the Yao Guais that have taken up residence in the woods to the west. “I still can’t believe you actually took the damn hatchling,” Nick grumbles, stumbling slightly as Larry shakes the ground when he walks by. “Most people would have either left it alone or killed it.”

”Pipsqueak needed me, Nick,” Kaili says, rolling her eyes; it’s an old argument, one that always ends the same way: Pipsqueak – and now Larry – are members of Sanctuary, and are to be treated nicely. “Anyway, I’m gonna go hunt down the Railroad. You want in?”

She has his attention now. “The Railroad, huh?” Nick asks thoughtfully. “Why do you wanna go messing around with them?”

”Because,” Kaili says sweetly, “I’m going to burn the Institute to the ground. I think the Railroad should have a chance to rescue as many synths as they can.”

”Fair enough,” Nick says, shrugging. “I picked up a load of fusion cells the last time I was in Diamond City, so I’m ready when you are.”

”Awesome,” Kaili says happily, patting the prototype laser rifle by her hip. “Let’s get cracking.”

* * *

”Oh for the love of – Of course they used the Old North Church.” Kaili rolls her eyes, flicking bits of super mutant off of her shoulders. “Of course they did.” The woman can tell that Nick knows what she means when he snorts, and she tosses him a grin. “C’mon; let’s clear it out and find the elusive bastards.”

The old, ruined church isn’t crawling with ghouls or super mutants or anything else; there are a few ferals that Kaili makes quick work of, tossing Nick a grin when the old synth complains about her not leaving any for him. It’s easy enough to follow the trail into the catacombs, taking care of another couple of ferals before they’re left standing in front of some device. Kaili eyes it thoughtfully for several long moments before shrugging. “Any ideas?”

”What about those codes we found?” Nick suggests. “With the letters and the numbers.”

Kaili pulls the piece of scrap that she’d used to record the codes from her pocket, looking it over carefully. “I wonder,” she says slowly, reaching up to touch the device. A quick experiment reveals that the center is a button, and the ring around it spins. Carefully, Kaili aligns one of the ‘R’s with the painted arrow, and then pushes the button. There’s a soft whirring and then a click, and Kaili grins. “Oh, those egotistical sons of bitches.”

R-A-I-L-R-O-A-D

There’s a groaning that sounds as though it’s coming from inside the walls themselves, and then part of the wall slides away altogether. Sharing a grin with Nick, Kaili walks confidently into the darkness; a bright light clicks on before she can step over a ledge, and Kaili takes in the three people standing across from her. Two women and a man – almost a boy, really. Kaili dismisses him for the moment, as well as the woman on the far left; she’s not the leader. High up on the chain, but not the leader.

No, that would be the woman in the middle, the one saying, “So. You went to an awful lot of trouble to arrange this meeting. My name is Desdemona, but first thing’s first: How did you hear about us?”

Kaili shrugs, rummaging through one of the pouches on her belt for a mutfruit. “Saved a guy named Karl; he knew a guy, who knew a guy, who knew the Railroad. Gave me a trail to follow, wound up here. Nice digs, by the way; can’t go wrong with a nice, creepy catacomb to hole up in.”

Desdemona considers Kaili’s words for a moment before nodding. “We’ll be investigating that,” she says, and Kaili hides her smirk behind her fruit. “In the meantime, why did you want to meet with us?”

Kaili swipes a bit of juice off of her chin with her thumb, sucking the digit clean before she speaks. “It’s simple, really; I’m a Vault Dweller. Got shoved into Vault 111 as the bombs dropped, two hundred years ago. Me, my husband, and my baby and neighbors. We were shoved into cryostasis as soon as we went under, and my baby was taken and my husband killed. Recently found out that the Institute was the one behind that, so I’m going to raze the whole damn organization to the ground. Figured you might want a heads-up to get as many synths out as possible.”

Desdemona’s eyes have widened almost imperceptibly. “You really believe you can do that?” she asks sharply, but whatever Kaili might have said is cut off by the arrival of another Railroad agent.

”If anyone can, it’s her,” he says, giving Kaili a winning smile; the ex-special forces agent just raises an eyebrow. “Dez, I’m hurt you threw a party without me.”

Desdemona, apparently used to the man’s antics, just rolls her eyes. “What do you mean, Deacon? You know her?”

”I know  _of_  her,” Deacon corrects. “Hell, the whole damn Commonwealth does; she’s the leader of the Minutemen, and got them back their Castle. With the help of her pet Deathclaw.”

”Deacon, really – “

”Pipsqueak loves mirelurks, what can I say?” Kaili smirks. “A mirelurk queen against a legendary albino Deatchlaw protecting her pack? Mirelurk didn’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell.”

Desdemona is clearly not sure what to think about Pipsqueak – not sure whether to believe in her existence for the moment, anyway – but Kaili doesn’t mind. “You are the General, though?”

Kaili tips an imaginary hat. “General Kaili Swesson, at your service. Leader of the Minutemen and crusader of the common man of the Commonwealth. Spend my free time helping settlers defend what’s theirs, and occasionally running errands for people. When I’m not blowing up super mutants, ferals, or Raiders, that is.”

”Huh,” Desdemona says thoughtfully. “Well, let me ask you one question: Would you lay down your life for your fellow man, even if that man was a synth?”

Kaili can’t help the laugh that escapes her, jerking a thumb over her shoulder at Nick, who’s grinning. “Lady, I already did that; busted this bucket of bolts – “ Nick rolls his eyes, reaching over to swat Kaili in the back of the head fondly “ – from an abandoned Vault crawling with Triggermen. Would have done it for anyone, synth or no. Not to mention I took care of that little cult in Covenant, the one that was capturing and torturing synths. You’re welcome for that, by the way.”

Desdemona is clearly reluctantly impressed. “Well, I suppose the only fair thing to do is give you a shot. You said you’re planning to destroy the Institute?”

Kaili can feel her expression hardening. “I’m going to wreak so much havoc on them, the bombs dropping will look mild.”

Desdemona searches Kaili’s expression; whatever she finds there must satisfy her, because she nods, once. “Deacon needs another body for his next op; help him out, and we’ll see how you do.”

”My pleasure,” Kaili says with a grin.

* * *

”Wow, what crawled up his ass and died?” Kaili mutters, leading the way past Ricky, the ‘tourist’ with the information about the Railroad’s former HQ, and looking over the edge of the broken freeway, trying to gauge the distance.

”Ricky’s always been tempermental; doesn’t help that he was one of the few to survive the attack,” Deacon says, shrugging.

”Well, I think -  _Fuck!_ ” Kaili barely registers her foot slipping; all she knows is she bangs her leg against the steel rebar protruding from the broken freeway, and then there’s nothing but her and air between the ground – at least until she meets the ground.

”Kaili!” Nick yells; from her position on her back, Kaili can barely make out the horrified expression on the old synth’s face. “Wait there, we’re coming!”

All Kaili can do is groan; from the way that she can no longer feel her legs, she knows that something major was broken. If Nick gets there with a stimpak in time, however, there should be no permanent damage. “Oh, motherfucker,” Kaili curses, swearing at herself for leaving her stimpaks in the pouch at the small of her back. “Jesus fucking shitbiscuit -  _Nick! Hurry up with the damn stimpak!_ ”

She can hear footsteps – two sets, so Deacon followed Nick, good. Nick’s worried expression pops into view, and Kaili gives him a smile that’s more grimace than anything. “Stick it in my back,” she orders, shifting slightly and gritting her teeth against the pain. “Now, please.”

Nick administers the stimpak, and then another one to Kaili’s shoulder for good measure. Kaili can’t bite back the scream that rips itself from her throat as the medicine gets to work, sticking back bone, sinew, and nerves. When it’s over, Kaili is left slumped against the ground. “Fucking hell,” she groans, rolling over so she can get onto all fours. “Jesus Christ on a pogo stick, have I ever mentioned I hate traveling on freeways? God, it was bad enough driving on the damn things, but now – “

”You’re all right?” Nick asks, kneeling beside her and helping Kaili get carefully onto her feet.

”As ‘all right’ as someone who’s just recovered from a hundred-foot-drop and a broken spinal column can be,” Kaili grumbles, gingerly stretching and then taking a few steps. “Still sore, but I can move. We should get going.”

Nick looks like he wants to argue, but at a sharp look from Kaili, he relents. “Fine. But you’re not taking point, not until all of the soreness is gone.”

”Which will be in five minutes,” Kaili counters, but she relents.

As they make their way towards the spot Deacon had pointed out, the Railroad agent sidles up next to Kaili. “So, do you make a habit of collecting life-threatening injuries?”

Kaili rolls her eyes. “I try not to. But sometimes it’s unavoidable. Or accidental. Word of advice: If you can’t hit the nuke on a super mutant suicider’s arm from twenty yards, then you run like hell.”

Deacon grins. “I’ll take that under advisement.”

* * *

”So you really fought your way through a hundred synths with this sack of potatoes on your shoulder?”

Kaili shrugs, grins. “I lost count after number eighty-six; that was when we stepped into the minefield. Then it was just a matter of shoving them into the mines.”

”Hm.” Desdemona clearly isn’t quite convinced, but she’s also impressed. “I have to admit, I was expecting Deacon to gather a full team, but he went in with you just you and Valentine, and you managed to recover Doctor Carrington’s prototype and clear out the synths. He’s never spoken – or lied – about someone so highly before.”

Kaili grins. “What can I say, I’m a people person.”

”Well, your people-person skills and your skills with a gun have earned you a spot in the Railroad,” Desdemona says. “For the sake of secrecy, we all have codenames; you need to pick yours.”

Kaili thinks for a moment, and then a grin steals over her face. “Call me… Whisper,” she says.

”An interesting choice,” Desdemona comments.

”Any reason?” Deacon asks, interested.

Kaili’s grin turns into a smirk. “Because I want the Institute to whisper my name for fear of it,” she says. “I want them to fear  _me._ ”


End file.
